I am so sorry for the delay people, I had my struggles with this chapter. I rewrote it for five times, and still think it could be better! This is so frustrating... but I hope you enjoyed it. If not, please don't hate me!

As always, epic thanks to the wonderful ElCapitan18 for beta-ing this. She is my guiding hand, the light at the end of the tunnel, and my better half. Thank you for being a part of my life.

Thanks to everyone who read, followed, faved and reviewed, I hope I didn't disappoint you with this! *hugs*


The red wine's bitter-sweet scent reached her nose and summoned a small smile onto her face as it rested on the bottom of the two wine glasses. She sighed in contentment and placed the bottle on the table next to the glasses before she looked up at the holo clock on the nightstand. Nervous excitement started to bubble its way through her system and she rubbed her palms together in anticipation. Knowing that her visitor would arrive soon, Jane paced a small line up and down next to the huge fish tank, keeping her gaze to the floor as she did so.

The doors hissed open moments later and she smiled brightly when she turned around and saw Liara stepping through the door, her eyes immediately locking on Jane. The asari descended the stairs with a bright smile on her face before she wrapped her arms around Shepard, releasing a soft, childlike laugh. Jane returned the gesture with the same affection and happiness before they both broke the hug.

"Glad you could visit so soon," admitted Jane, only to earn a warm smile from Liara.

"I couldn't miss the chance to talk to you," she stated. "We're both busy and, with what's coming, there is a chance we won't live to see tomorrow."

Jane could only agree to that with a nod. Pointing with her hand to the couch, she exclaimed, "Have a seat," and waited until Liara took a seat before she joined in.

Liara looked around, her features wide in awe as she took in the cabin's size and furniture. "Cerberus really knows how to build a ship," she stated, before bringing her gaze back to Jane. "Tali and Joker showed me around. It's enormous."

Jane took her glass and took a small sip before she agreed, "Well, the crew is double than it was on the first Normandy." Placing the glass back on the table, she smiled wearily and stated, "That is about the only good thing about Cerberus."

Liara's features saddened with sympathy and she placed a hand on Jane's knee. She waited for Jane to meet her gaze and when she did, Liara asked, "How are you Shepard? And don't tell me the same thing you tell your crew to keep morale up... be honest."

Jane sighed, and couldn't maintain eye contact with her so she looked away. Rubbing her eyes with her forefingers, she exhaled a slightly irritated, "I'm tired, Liara. And angry."

She didn't wait for her asari friend to comfort her with well thought words, and instead pushed herself up from the couch. Walking towards the nearby desk, she drew invisible lines on its surface with her finger and kept her back to Liara before she confessed, "I'm tired of being the strong, indestructible Commander Shepard." Biting her lip, she hesitated for a second to tell her what she really felt, but then decided to be honest. Liara had asked her for honesty after all. "And I'm angry because I'm losing people that I care about."

Liara pushed herself off the couch as well, Jane could feel her presence when she stopped not too far to her. She turned to look at her asari friend, and realized Liara looked as though she was afraid to admit something. Fumbling her fingers, Liara stated after a short silence, "I read the report on Horizon, Shepard. I'm sorry..."

Furrowing her brows in irritation at the memory, Jane crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at the floor, not knowing what to say. A moment of silence passed between them, and just before the silence turned awkward, Liara broke it. "I... take it you're not talking with him?"

Jane only huffed in displeasure and shrugged her shoulders, hoping that her gesture would be answer enough to her asari friend. The situation wouldn't be that bad if they were at least talking. Jane got the impression that he didn't even want to know what was going on with her, let alone talk to her. Kaidan had clearly shown that he lost his interest in her, and that knowledge broke her heart.

"He did promise to keep Chris safe, right?" Liara asked softly, pulling Jane out of her thoughts.

Shrugging her shoulders, Jane grumbled a irritated, "So?" still refusing to meet Liara's gaze.

Taking a tentative step in her direction, Liara wondered, "Doesn't that mean something?"

Jane lifted her eyes from the floor then, only to glare at Liara as though she just said something outrageous. "Anderson probably ordered him to keep Chris safe. It was an order, not Kaidan's sheer will to help."

"An order he could've refused," Liara defended, which only served to annoy Shepard further. "But he didn't."

Shepard grew tired of Liara defending him. Liara was suddenly defending Kaidan as though Shepard was the monster, as though everything was her fault. Eyes narrowing in two angry slits, Jane demanded, "What exactly is your point?"

Liara's features turned determined as she replied, "My point is that not everything is black and white. There are shades of grey everywhere." Liara silenced for a second, letting her statement sink in to a obviously confused Jane. "He was hurt Shepard, immensely! You can't blame him for being angry."

"So," Shepard started with a bitter laugh, letting her arms fall to her sides in clenched fists, "that gives him the right to accuse me of faking my death so I can switch sides?! Or how I left him behind on Horizon?!" her voice turned into a shout, her anger and frustration raising to a point where she thought the scars would bleed again. No, she couldn't handle the horror of her bleeding scars for another time.

Taking deep, slow breaths in an attempt to lower her heartbeat and stress levels, Shepard rubbed her eyes with her forefingers. It took her a few seconds to calm down, and when she did she breathed out in relief and opened her eyes to look at a clearly distressed Liara.

"No, he doesn't have the right for that," clarified Liara. "But you also don't have the right to blame him for everything."

Jane's eyes widened in disbelief and outrage. She couldn't believe that they were actually having this conversation right now. The last thing Jane wanted to talk about was Kaidan, but it seemed the subject was unavoidable. "I died, for heavens sake. How can that be my fault?!"

"I'm not talking about that! Nobody is blaming you for your death! I'm just saying that you should understand him as well." Jane wanted to argue back, to tell her asari friend to mind her own business, but Liara was faster when she added, "And he's protecting your brother, Shepard," she said the last in desperation, as though she was slowly losing her strength to continue this explanation. "Isn't that at least worth a little recognition?"

Instead of answering, Jane averted her eyes to the ceiling and crossed her arms in front of her chest stubbornly as her foot anxiously tapped on the floor. She had no intention to answer that question, and hoped to show exactly that with her posture and silence. Liara talked about Kaidan as though he was the one who got the worst of it, but what about her? Nobody asked just how much their separation broke her heart, or how she handled the heartbreak. Nobody asked her anything and instead they stood up to Kaidan's defense.

In the edges of her vision Jane could see Liara pulling something out of her pocket, and despite her curiosity demanding that she look at whatever Liara had just pulled out, Jane withstood against the nagging wish. Jane tensed but didn't pay any attention to her as Liara stopped in front of her, holding whatever she pulled out of her pocket in front of her.

"And what about these, Shepard? Did you forget about this?" asked Liara as she silently waited for Jane to look at the thing she was holding. Jane succumbed to Liara's stubbornness, and her own curiosity, with a groan and lowered her gaze to Liara's hand. What she held had no sense to her, so she lifted her questioning gaze to Liara's.

"What is this?" she asked.

Liara's eyes hardened as she lifted her hand that was holding the silver necklace in front of Jane's face, demanding a irritated, "Take a better look."

Jane compelled to her request and did exactly that, and when she recognized the silver necklace, her heart dropped into her stomach.

"Where... where did you find them?" asked Jane as she hesitantly took the offered necklace from Liara. Her hand shook when she ran her fingers over the slightly molten metal. She could recognize part of Kaidan's name and hers, and could still see the shape of the cross he'd given her smelted right in the middle of it.

"My dogtags..." Jane whispered as if to assure herself that this wasn't a dream. Tears were stinging her eyes as she blinked rapidly to sustain them, but fought a losing battle.

Liara closed Jane's hand around the dogtags and Jane lifted her eyes to meet hers, only to see a soft, sympathetic smile curling her lips. "And Kaidan's dogtags..." she whispered, and gave her hand a tight squeeze. "I hope that reminds you of the promises you two made to each other."

The tears fell down Jane's face like two heavy waterfalls when Liara pulled her into a hug. Everything hit her then as she tightly closed her hand around the dogtags, hard enough for the metal to cut into her palm. The memory of the moment when he'd given her his dogtags squeezed the air out of her lungs as she held Liara as if she was her lifesaver.

Of course she remembered every promise he'd made her. No Cerberus technology could wipe that out of her being. Kaidan had promised her that day that he would always love her, no matter what came between them. He'd given her his dogtags and the cross as a promise to always be hers. She had been a part of him and then she'd died and he was the one left behind to deal with the grief and pain. Then she'd left him behind on Horizon, again, without even trying to understand him, or without trying harder to explain to him the situation.

The image her mind produced of him alone and broken because of her death pulled her soul into a deep, dark abyss of guilt, regret and pain, chilling her to her bones. It had taken the feel of her long lost dogtags to understand what Liara was getting at. Jane was too consumed by her anger and pain to notice that she wasn't the only one hurt. To her, the two years felt like a few days, but to him they were two long years.

I wouldn't even last a day knowing he is dead...

Jane knew that if she kept being stubborn they would never even start to mend the rift between them, if there was even a chance to reconcile things between them. She had said so much, done so much to hurt him. She wondered if he would ever give her another chance.

Liara pulled away slowly but kept her hands on Jane's shoulders. Eyes fixed on the dogtags in her open palm, she didn't dare lift them to meet Liara's. She didn't want to end up a crying mess in front of her; she could always cry later, when she was alone.

"Are you okay?" Liara's soft voice broke the silence of the room, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze.

Nodding hastily, Jane blinked the rest of the tears away before she finally met her gaze. "Where did you find them?" she repeated her earlier unanswered question.

The question shook Liara up a bit, uncertainty flashing in her blue eyes and face when she looked away. Jane's suspicion grew when Liara lowered her hands at her sides and scratched an imagined itch on her lower arm nervously.

Meeting her gaze again, Liara's features became hard when she admitted, "On your body, Shepard."

Eyes widening in disbelief, Jane let out a harsh, "What?!" as shock widened her features, the words overrunning her like a horde of broncos. "You had access to my body?" The thought of Liara having access to her body arose a million more questions in her mind; questions, to which she desperately wanted answers.

Liara lowered her gaze to the floor and chewed on her lower lip for a while, making Jane even more edgy than she already was. After a short moment of silence, Liara finally decided to fill her in on the details, much to Shepard's relief. "After you died," she started, her voice shaking and fragile, "I gathered a team to search for your remains because Cerberus had contacted me. They told me that there was a way to bring you back."

Liara's eyes fell shut and her arms began to shake. There was little more that Jane could do other than stare at her asari friend, the shock making her unable to articulate a proper sentence. Liara had found her body and given her to Cerberus. Jane didn't know how to feel about that other than betrayed. She felt betrayed because her friend had handed her to the Illusive Man willingly, an action defiling every sense of friendship.

Narrowing her eyes and taking a step in her direction, Jane growled a threatening, "You did what?" as she fisted her hands tightly.

Liara locked her eyes on Jane's, a pleading glint in them, showing that she was not afraid of her. "You are the only person that can fight the Reapers. The galaxy needs you, Shepard, whether you like it or not. I needed to trust Cerberus to bring you back."

"I can't believe you did this," exclaimed Jane as she shook her head in disgust. Liara's eyes filled with unshed tears, but Jane couldn't care. Her friend handed her over to the devil himself without a second thought. She felt as though she didn't know Liara anymore and couldn't believe just how much she'd changed in the past two years.

Teary eyes looking straight into her, Liara's softly started, "When you died," her voice a shaking whisper, "we were all devastated, and lost. We didn't know what to do with ourselves. Kaidan was the worst, he..." she silenced for a moment, carefully choosing the words as she held Jane's narrowed gaze. "He was devastated, broken. He kept saying that he should have been the one to die on the Normandy. That... that he didn't want to live anymore."

Even though Liara's confession unsettled her a lot, she refused to show how much. Jane kept her angry and stubborn posture as she glared at her asari friend, waiting patiently for her to continue, to hear out her poor excuse to give her willingly to Cerberus.

"So when Cerberus contacted me and told me that there is a way to bring you back, I couldn't hesitate. We all need you, Shepard. You pull us in the right direction, always."

Despite her words being full of pain and regret, Jane couldn't shut down her anger. "So you just decided to give my body to Cerberus? Just like that?!"

Liara's eyes widened in horror. "No! It was the hardest decision in my life! I just... I just had to do something!" her voice shook, her hands came up to her face as she dug the heels of her palms into her eyes. Inaudible sobs wracked her body as he continued, "We had to do something! Garrus and Joker agreed that we need you!"

Her heart dropped into her stomach, again. This couldn't be happening. Surely her mind was playing tricks with her. "You mean Garrus and Joker helped you?" she asked softly, a familiar coldness spreading through her, making her feel alone and miserable.

Liara nodded, but didn't tear her hands away from her face as she continue to rub her eyes, "Joker was flying the ship and Garrus helped me, along with Feron, to recover you. Tali couldn't be there, she had some work to do for the quarian Admirals." Only then did she rip her hands away from her eyes, locking them immediately with Jane's. "It was the hardest thing we did, but we needed to do it!"

Despite what Liara said to justify her actions, it couldn't erase the pit of loneliness that started in Jane's gut as she lowered her eyes to the floor. She felt like a tool, handed over from one person to the other hoping to get fixed, and they had fixed her. Fixed. She couldn't get the damned word out of her mind.

"Shepard," she pulled her gaze from the floor when Liara called her softly. Jane's anger faded away and it allowed her to see just how broken and guilty Liara looked. "I am really sorry..."

All the strength to fight back suddenly left her. Jane was unable to continue the argument, and all she wanted was to be left alone.

Forcing a reassuring smile onto her lips, Jane assured, "It's okay. I understand," and was met with a bright smile on Liara's face.

After they said their goodbye's, Jane walked her out to the elevator, thanking her asari friend one more time for visiting her. Liara waved and gave her one departing smile before the elevator door hid her from Jane's view. An eerie silence accompanied her as she stared at the elevator doors, somehow feeling as though she was all alone on the ship. The earlier conversation still played her mind, and it made her doubt her entire being. Before the thoughts could cripple her with fear though, she blocked them in the deepest recesses of her mind.

Turning around, she walked back into her cabin, but stopped before the stairs and turned her head to her right to look at the two pictures she had of Kaidan. Before she knew it she stood in front of the desk, bracing her weight with her knuckles.

As she stared at the image of Kaidan, immense sadness engulfed her heart, threatening to crush it under its vise like grip. Her heart still beat for him, her stomach did a pleasant flip whenever she remembered the night before Ilos. She had been so happy back then, Kaidan had helped her through so much, had been there for her whenever she needed a strong guiding hand. The love they had felt for each other was real, nothing would ever convince her of the opposite, but it also made her wonder if such strong feelings could dissipate over time and prevail eternity itself.

Her heartbeat thudded loudly in her eardrums when she glanced at her terminal, knowing very well that, some time, she would have to play his voicemail. Just not now, and not today. Jane preferred fighting a horde of Collectors over playing his voicemail. The fear of what he might have recorded was greater than her curiosity, greater than the wish to hear his voice.

A sickening, cold feeling settled in her gut at her cowardice. The great Commander Shepard, first human Spectre and Savior of the Citadel, was afraid of a voicemail. She didn't deserve any of these titles, she realized now. A coward didn't deserve to be treated with the same respect.

Hanging her head low in shame, she pushed herself away from the desk after she'd gathered her thoughts before she titled her head back to look at the ceiling, to tell EDI to inform the crew to get ready for the next mission. A Cerberus agent had gone dark and it was up to them to retrieve his intel. Intel Jane could send to the Alliance... to Kaidan. Maybe it would show him that she wasn't a Cerberus puppet after all, and make him see that she was the same woman as she had been two years ago.

####

The Citadel...

Kaidan felt as though he was about to vomit as Chris happily walked next to him, oblivious to his pale features. That, or he was completely ignoring the fact that Kaidan looked like he might faint any second. His features were tense, his body stiff, his hands clenched into tight fists. The closer they came to their destination, the more Kaidan wanted to lie his way out of it.

They spotted the door to the clinic and he felt his heart drop into his stomach as a ghostly chill ran over his body. Kaidan tried to tame his nervousness by swallowing hard, but it did little to calm his heartbeat.

Stepping through the door, Chris walked to the receptionist and announced his presence. The receptionist nodded and told them to sit on the waiting chairs before the doctor arrived. Chris sat down but Kaidan was restless, he couldn't keep still so he started to pace a small line up and down. His arms were crossed and his head slightly hung, his focus directed at the floor as he succumbed to his thoughts. He was beyond nervous and anxious, and there was nothing he could do to tame the upheaval of emotions.

Minutes passed, and just when his nervousness dissipated a bit, a soft familiar voice called for Chris and Kaidan felt his stomach twist painfully.

He turned around and watched as the red haired woman greeted Chris with a beaming smile on her face, but that smile fell completely when her eyes moved from Chris to look at him. Her eyes pierced through him like bullets and he was too enraptured in the loathe they emanated to look away.

"Commander Alenko," she greeted calmly, though there was no trace of sympathy in her eyes.

Kaidan nodded once and decided to maintain the necessary professionalism, "Doctor Michel."

Michel nodded but replaced the disgusted scowl of her lips with a warm smile that she directed at Chris before she led him towards the examination rooms. Kaidan wanted to crawl out of his skin and disappear, but also knew that he had a assignment to fulfill. Taking a deep breath to steel his nerves, he followed the two to the room where Michel was going to thoroughly examine the boy.

He watched Michel as she happily talked with Chris while she measured his pulse and listened to his heartbeat. When she was satisfied with the results, she put her equipment down and flickered on her omni-tool before she scanned his body for any anomalies. Satisfied that there were none, Michel smiled and wrote something down on her omni-tool before she turned to Chris.

"Everything looks fine. You're as healthy and strong as a full grown krogan," she teased, and was rewarded with a suspicious arch of the boys brow.

"Uhm... thanks?" Michel chuckled and her attention moved from him to Kaidan. He had to suck in a sharp breath when her smile fell a little before she looked away. Her presence still made him uncomfortable, but at least he didn't feel like he would faint any second.

He still hadn't apologized to her for being an ass. What he did to her was immature and Kaidan couldn't understand how he could even allow that to happen. He'd never played with another person's emotions before, it just went against his nature. Yet he hadn't hesitated a second to be with her, thinking that he could forget Shepard and be happy with another woman. How wrong he was.

Michel talked with Chris for a while, asking him about school and if he had any problems with the other kids. Chris waved her off and said that there was nothing he couldn't handle, and Kaidan couldn't help but smile. It was moments like these that he saw just how similar he was to his sister, and it always amazed him.

Walking him towards Kaidan, Michel stopped and maintained her full attention on Chris when she spoke. "My assistant, Gina, will inform you of your next visit. Watch over yourself, will you?" The gleam in her eyes was of honest concern. Michel really did care for Chris and his well being, she proved that with every smile she gave him and with the tenderness with which she'd examined him.

Chris went to Michel's assistant at the reception and Kaidan watched the boy happily talking with the younger woman. Recognizing his chance to apologize, Kaidan turned his attention to Michel, only to see the mean snarl she directed at him.

"Chloe, I'm sorry," Kaidan whispered when she crossed her arms in front of her chest defiantly. Glancing to Chris, Kaidan was happy when the boy got trapped into a conversation with Gina, so he turned his attention back to the woman he'd hurt so much.

"You did nothing wrong," she stated, and although she sounded normal, he could hear the bitter undertone of her voice. "It was me who was foolish enough to believe that you could actually be over Shepard. You only used your chance, nothing else."

Kaidan realized again just how much he'd hurt her. Taking a step in her direction, Kaidan whispered a pleading, "I never meant for any of this to happen," hoping to show her that he truly meant it. Kaidan never took sex lightly, but he was so out of his depth at that time that he couldn't rationalize right or wrong.

Shaking her head, a chuckle that was all but joyous escaped her when she rebuked, "Of course you didn't. Instead of telling me that you were still madly in love with Shepard, you slept with me and probably imagined Shepard while you were fucking me." Her eyes were narrowed, throwing countless daggers at him.

Kaidan winced inwardly at her choice of words but couldn't reject their truth. He did imagine Shepard whenever he slept with Chloe. He felt sick just by the mere thought of it.

"You," she jabbed her finger into his chest, "are an asshole, Kaidan Alenko! I don't want to see you ever again!" Then she spun around and left. Kaidan tried to call for her, but froze in place when Chris appeared next to him.

"Where did she go?" asked Chris. Kaidan desperately hoped that he was oblivious to what had just happened because he had no idea what to tell the boy. You know, when your sister died, I barely found enough strength to move on. Then Chloe and I got together, and when I found your sister alive, I doubted every inch of her being and instead of helping her, I turned my back to her. No, he couldn't tell Chris the truth.

"An emergency," Kaidan blurted out, hoping that his nervousness wasn't as obvious as he thought it was. Turning to face the boy, Kaidan tried to appear as normal as possible, but the suspicious look Chris bore into him sped up his already wildly thudding heart. The look he gave him was doubtful, as though Chris could see right through his lies.

What am I going to do? he wondered when he smiled reassuringly at Chris, hoping that it would be enough to convince him that nothing was wrong. When Chris inquired a careful, "Is everything alright?" Kaidan wanted nothing more but to enlighten the boy on everything, but it wasn't his place.

He had no idea why Jane hadn't enlightened Chris about the status of their relationship. It was as though she wanted to keep her personal problems away from him, as though she didn't want to trash Kaidan's name in front of Chris. Kaidan didn't know how to feel about that, but could feel relief flooding through him because of it.

Kaidan's smile stretched and he nudged Chris's shoulder playfully when he replied, "Yeah. You worry too much, you know that?"

Chris shrugged and, though he looked unconvinced, he didn't prod the matter further. Kaidan was grateful for that as they both walked out of the clinic. His attention was on Chris when the doors parted and when both stepped out, he bumped into someone. A woman, Kaidan quickly realized, as he dropped to his knees to help her gather her bag and the things she dropped because of him.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you," Kaidan apologized when he helped the woman to her feet before handing her her things.

The woman was short, barely reaching Kaidan's shoulders. Her shoulder length, platinum hair framed her childlike features, her plush lips caught his attention for a second before he moved them up to her black eyes. When their eyes met, a wide, beaming smile unearthed on her face as her eyes widened in amazement.

Lifting her hand and pointing her index finger at him, she wondered, "Are you Commander Alenko?"

Kaidan furrowed his brows in suspicion, but let out a nervous laugh when he nodded, "Yeah, that's me."

"Oh my God!" the woman exclaimed in pure shock, her smile widening even more, if that was even possible. "Oh my God I can't believe I'm actually standing in front of you!" Kaidan felt Chris shift behind him and he glanced behind his shoulder, only to see Chris's features narrowed in suspicion, and eagerness to move along.

Moving his attention back to the short, yet beautiful woman standing in front of him, he tried to politely dismiss her and tell her that he was in a hurry, but was interrupted when the woman stuck out her hand. "I'm Aida, a pleasure to meet you!"

Kaidan stared at her offered hand for a second, before he politely took it. And then he felt it. The massive zap of biotic energy colliding with his, coming from the woman standing in front of him. Kaidan's whole body tensed and a cold feeling settled in his gut as he stared into Aida's black eyes. The smile she gave him was that of pure adoration. There was no hostility in her posture or smile, but her strength... Kaidan hadn't felt a biotic strength like hers in a long time, and he had to admit that it frightened him.

Aida withdrew her hand and rummaged through her belongings before she withdrew a data pad and a pen. Handing them both over to Kaidan, she pleaded, "Could I get a autograph, please? My friends won't believe that I actually met the famous Kaidan Alenko."

He was still too bewildered by her power to articulate a proper sentence, but managed to nod, earning from her a happy 'yay' in response. Kaidan signed her data pad and gave it back to her, and their fingers involuntarily touched again. Holy shit, thought Kaidan when he felt the same biotic strength colliding with his own, chilling him to his bones.

Aida glanced down at his signature and kept the wide beaming smile on her face when she stated, "Thank you, Commander Alenko! Thank you so much!" before she moved past them.

Kaidan couldn't move from the shock, let alone say anything. Her biotic power was immense. He couldn't remember any human biotic that he had ever met that was as strong as this petite woman, who'd looked anything but dangerous. Something was off. Kaidan's instincts were alarming him to something, but he couldn't guess what. When Chris appeared next to him, Kaidan managed to escape his thoughts and fears, and told Chris to move along.

His heart hammered wildly against his chest, the hair on the back of his neck stood in nervous anticipation. He could smell the danger in the air, could feel its weight twisting his gut painfully as he flickered his eyes from left to right. He couldn't help it, and felt as though he was being watched by black eyes.

####

The shuttle trembled under their feet as it flew away from the planet's surface. Jane looked at each of her crewmembers as she stood, her thoughts distant. The Cerberus intel they'd recovered was exactly what the Alliance needed to exploit their future plans. It was something she could use to gain Kaidan's trust back. She was eager to get back on the Normandy just so she could send him the intel.

Inhaling deeply and releasing the breath slowly, she tensed when she caught Miranda's pale blue eyes directed at her, her expression neutral. Though they were on better terms after Jane had saved Oriana, she still couldn't stand the Cerberus Operative, simply because she admired the Illusive Man. The operative fulfilled his every wish, which was cause enough for Jane to despise her.

The Operative stood up from her seat and erased the distance between them. Jane suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and instead kept glaring at the Operative from behind her sentry interface. Stopping right in front of her, Miranda inquired, "Have you decided what to do with the intel?"

Shepard knew the Operative was edgy since Jane had taken the intel from the body and silently placed it into her pocket without voicing what she will do with it. Jane maintained eye contact with Miranda when she replied, "No," hoping to leave the conversation at that.

The Operative crossed her arms in front of her chest and Shepard anticipated what would come next. "Cerberus will make it worth your while if you send the intel to the Illusive Man."

Shepard only smirked at Miranda's poor attempt to please the Illusive Man's wish. The Operative would do anything just to crawl even deeper into TIM's ass. She really liked the nickname Joker gave him. "I'll think about it," stated Jane, her voice and posture showing that she had no interest in continuing this conversation.

Miranda sighed and rubbed her eyes with her forefingers. "What's the matter, Cheerleader?" goaded Jack from where she was sitting, a playful note in her voice as she chewed on her gum. "Angry that things aren't going your way?"

Jane couldn't help the smile that stretched her lips. She enjoyed the way the two always picked on each other, though she had made it clear that she didn't want any incidents; not until they destroyed the Collector homeworld, at least.

Miranda lifted her head and glared at Jack, who was smirking at the Operative. "I believe nobody asked you anything," countered Miranda.

Jack laughed threateningly when she added, "Careful, crawl any deeper up TIM's ass and he'll have to shit you out." Joker's nickname for the Illusive Man had spread like wildfire through the Normandy. Keeping the goading smile on her face as she chewed her gum, Jack added, "That is if he doesn't enjoy a princess stuck up his ass."

"Aww, the failed Cerberus experiment thinks their opinion matters," countered Miranda, a mean smile curling her lips as she kept her focus on Jack. "Crawl back into your cell of self pity and shut up."

Jack stood up from her seat, her expression narrowed in anger and insult. Jane's shoulders tensed as she watched Jack take two steps in Miranda's direction, and the atmosphere thickened suddenly. Jack fisted both her hands and the blue of her biotics shimmered around her closed fists when she growled, "Say that again and I'll smear the walls with you!"

Shepard's narrowed eyes darted from Jack to Miranda and back, but she wouldn't step between them until things got out of control; a few insults never harmed anyone.

She knew the situation would escalate when Miranda took a step in Jack's direction, her fisted hands also glowing in the blue of her biotics and her features set with stubbornness. "I'd like to see you try," she growled, and it was all Jack needed.

Jack advanced on Miranda but was stopped when Jane pushed her back to the wall while Thane took care of Miranda. Jane's arm was pressed against the tattooed woman's chest to hold her in place. Jack struggled in her grasp but couldn't do anything; it was moments like these when Jane was grateful for the cybernetics Cerberus embedded her with.

When Jack struggled a little too roughly, Jane slammed her back on the wall and growled, "Lower that temper of yours, Jack," a threatening glow in her eyes, one that Jack didn't even acknowledge.

"Let me go Shepard, or I swear-" Jack was cut off when Jane slammed her back on the wall, a little harder this time.

"I told you once to keep your anger in check until we take care of the Collectors," growled Jane, her voice even but deadly. Still holding Jack secured to the wall, she earned the biotic's attention before she added, "What you'll do to her afterwards is none of my business. You can skin her alive for all I care."

She held Jack's gaze for a few more seconds then nodded, and when the biotic nodded as well in defeat, Jane stepped away and rolled her shoulders. Glancing behind her shoulder, she caught Thane's eyes and gave him a reassuring nod before he too stepped away from Miranda.

"You're lucky Shepard stopped me from ripping your extensions out," growled Jack from behind Shepard.

Miranda looked past Thane's shoulder and was about to counter Jack when EDI sounded over the intercom. All glanced at the ceiling when the AI called for Jane's attention.

"Jeff has ordered me to send an urgent message to you, Commander," Jane furrowed her brows in concern as a cold feeling raised the hair on the back of her neck. Something didn't feel right, she could feel it. "The reaper IFF contained a virus that disabled the Normandy's systems, giving the Collector's enough time to board the ship."

"What?!" sounded Jane's shocked reply. "EDI what the hell are you talking about?!"

"We did everything we could," informed EDI. "Jeff did everything in his might to save the ship, but the crew is gone. The Collector's took them."

EDI's words overrun Jane like a bulldozer. Silence fell in the shuttle, the sound of the engine the only thing breaking the silence. A tight, painful knot twisted her stomach, a cold chill running over her skin despite her armor. This couldn't be happening.

"What about Chakwas, Donelly and Chambers?" asked Jane, hoping that at least a few of them managed to escape the claws of the Collector's.

But Jane's heart fell with dread when the AI replied, "They're all gone, Commander. Except Jeff, he managed to vent the Normandy before they could capture him."

Jane stumbled backwards and plopped into one of the seats while Miranda continued to argue with EDI about how she could have let this happen. Shepard grabbed a fistful of her hair lightly as she stared at the floor, completely bewildered and shocked about the news.


Ooh, s*hit is about to happen soon. I am so excited!